The Space Between
by Cluckster
Summary: It's a soulmate AU
1. Chapter 1

Minako was five when she found the string. She was playing with her dress and found a what she thought was a loose string to pull. She knew mommy would be mad but she hated the itchy dress anyway. But the string wasn't unraveling her ugly dress. Where did the string go? She couldn't see the end. It just went through the door and Minako knew she wasn't allowed outside without mommy. So she just stared at the string touching and stroking it.

After a while she just held on to the string. It made her feel happy when she touched it.

She tried many times chasing the string, trying to find where it ended. Her mommy would always get mad when she walked too far away but Minako pushed her boundaries because maybe it was just a little bit ahead. It wasn't until she got lost in the woods when she was seven that she stopped trying to find the other end. She had held on to the string, looking for the comfort it normally brought, but the string only deepened her sadness. Her string was upset. Was it upset because she was trying to find the end? Minako didn't know, but she told it she would stop looking for the end if it would cheer up a little.

The string didn't cheer up.

It used to be a source of happiness, of curiosity and wonder. But ever since the day in the woods, the string didn't want to share feelings anymore. Minako didn't think the string was mad anymore, but it was always sad. She tried to cheer up her string everyday.

She would tell it stories, play in the sunshine, smell flowers, eat cupcakes, and even rubbed her kitty on it so it would feel how soft its fur was. But whether the string was sad, mad, or unfeeling, Minako never let it go.

Minako was 10 when she realized where the other end of the string led. A girl in school with flaming red hair told her about soulmates. She pushed Minako and told her that only special people had soulmates and she wasn't special enough to have one. Minako cried for an hour, holding on to her string that felt cold and sadder than she was, before she started to wonder why her string had feelings.

She dropped the string as if it had burned her. There was a person on the other side of the string. A person that used to be happy and was now sad all the time.

She lightly touched the string, sending feelings of wonder and confusion through it. If she could sense his misery, could he sense her feelings as well? She focused as hard as she could, holding on to the string tighter than ever before sending her inquiring feelings through it. She concentrated on getting a response back, but all she got in return was the normal indifference.

For days Minako tried conversing emotions through the string and the most she ever got in return was annoyance.

If her soulmate truly was on the other side, Minako decided she didn't like him. He was mean. He should respond to her, it was only the polite thing to do. She spent years tending to their string and he had done nothing but ignore her and wallow in his misery.

His misery... Minako wondered for the billionth time, what had happened to make the other side of the string so sad.

So, Minako did not like her soulmate, but that wouldn't stop her from trying to cheer him up. She stopped hoping to receive feelings back from the string, but she refused to let it go. And whenever something especially good happened, like when she received a compliment on her shiny hair, or she got the last cookie in the box, or she breathed an extra good gulp of fresh air, she made sure to send her joy through the string.

Minako was 13 when she felt something other than sadness through the string. She was practicing her ballet, string lightly held in her right hand when she felt a blush. It wasn't her blush, nothing blushworthy had happened. She looked at her hand and concentrated on listening to the string.

The blush was felt again, only stronger. He was admiring someone. He had a crush. He liked another girl.

Minako slowly let go of the string. Jealousy filling her every inch. Some other girl made him feel. Some other girl made him blush. She felt foolish and angry. But she didn't want him to know.

The feeling only lasted a moment and for that Minako was grateful. Unfortunately, Minako would have to deal with his crush many more times. She learned to mask her jealousy with more ease, or at least she hoped she did. But his feelings would only get worse for her.

Minako was 14 when the crush developed into something else. She was half asleep, string loosely held in her right hand when she became warm. It was like blushing, only all over. It made Minako become alert and when she realized what the new found feelings were, something in her snapped. Her jealousy turned into anger and disbelief. He was with her in that moment. He was doing, or least about to be doing, unspeakable things! Minako couldn't take it anymore. She refused to sit by quietly while her soulmate did...whatever with someone else!

Minako grabbed the string tightly in her hand and yanked for all she was worth. She yanked it down, wrenched it up, twisted it all around her, brought it to her face with both hands and yelled at it.

"GET OFF OF HER!!"

Shock. Stunned. Guilt. Annoyance. Anger.

It made Minako pause to actually receive a flurry of emotions back from the string.

He acknowledged her.

Sure, it was basically to say "I hate you. Stay out of my life." But hey! He admitted she existed! That was a win in her mind.

Confusion. Despair. Self loathing. Anger.

Always anger with him. Satisfied that the too pleasurable feeling had finally disappeared, Minako sunk back into bed. She was a moment away from sleep again when she felt his words, as clear as if he'd said them up against her face. "I hate you."

Minako dropped the string and didn't pick it back up.

Minako spent days crying. Nights sobbing. Her friends worried. They tried understanding why she hadn't been her usual bubbly self in a week. But Minako didn't want to talk about it. Eventually her best friend, Usagi, pried it out of her.

Usagi then cried with her. Usagi explained that while she didn't have a string, she did have a soulmate. They shared their dreams every night. They hadn't met in person, at least she didn't think, but they met every night in their little world which they dubbed Elysian. He was her knight in dark armor and he called her his princess.

Minako asked why they hadn't found each other if they could speak freely to each other. Usagi informed her that they had tried. Countless times in countless ways. But the dreams would never let them remember specifics. No names, addresses, heck, Usagi wasn't even 100% sure what he looked like.

But Usagi knew that if Endymion-as she named him- ever rejected her, she would die. Minako burst into tears all over again and the girls held each other tightly.

Usagi spoke softly to Minako, reminding her that she didn't need no stinking soulmate, no loser boy that wouldn't know a princess if she bit him. When Minako frowned at princess, Usagi dubbed her warrior princess, because she can kick ass and have pretty hair at the same time. Minako giggled for the first time in a week and realized that she was stronger than this.

Minako sat straighter, turned on her thousand watt smile, and decided to not be sad anymore. She left the string alone, finally understanding that he didn't want her, and left her delusions of love in the past.

'Love is a joke. Usagi might never find her soulmate. Mine doesn't want me. Reality isn't a fairy tale and happy endings don't exist. So I'm done with love. I'm going to have fun instead.'

So Minako gave up hope of ever finding the other end of her string. She refused to touch it ever again. She dated boys- sometimes more than one at a time- and she had fun. She didn't worry about how someone else might feel. She didn't spend her days thinking of how to make someone else happy. She focused on what would make her feel. She danced, she laughed, she forced herself to be happy. And after a while, it became easier. And after a longer while, Minako didn't remember the string anymore.

AN: Hi guys! Thought this was gonna be a oneshot, but then it got away from me. Whoops! I have an idea of where it's going, but can't promise super speedy updates. :-/

But I can't stand sad endings, so I won't leave it here! I'm thinking it'll probably be 3-5 chapters, but I can't promise they'll be any good LOLOL

K, hope you like it so far. Baiii


	2. Chapter 2

Kael was 8 years old and in the embrace of his mother when he first felt the flutter at this chest. It was a tickling sensation of wonder and happiness that made him giggle.

Kael didn't know where the sensation came from or what it meant, but he loved the feeling. He especially loved it when he fell and scraped his knee and even though it hurt, the flutters in his chest consoled him. Whenever he was upset, the feelings coming from his chest would cheer him up, and whenever he was excited, feelings in his chest would double the happiness. Kael would spend hours concentrating on his chest, mentally pushing emotions into himself.

He loved the flutters, the excitement, the happiness, the feelings that came from within him but were not his own. That is, until he was 9.

When Kael was 9, his family was yelling at him to hurry up. They were all in the car, waiting for him because he was still in the parking lot of the mall saying goodbye to the friend he ran into. His mom, dad, and little brother were screaming that they were going to drive away without him. Kael rolled his eyes and finally said goodbye to his friend. He was about 20 feet from the car when a drunk driver slammed into it.

Most of Kael's nightmares consist of reliving the scene. He will never be able to get the image of the drunk driver's body lying motionless on top of his family's car after flying out windshield- his face unrecognizable after- out of his head.

His nightmares tend to focus on when he ran to the car, trying to save his family, only to discover everyone covered in dark red. His little brother was in the back seat and was the least visibly injured, yet his lifeless eyes were still open staring back at Kael as if to say 'had you gotten in the car when we called for you this wouldn't have happened.'

But it's not the nightmares that make Kael regret holding up his family, consequently leaving him alone in the world. It's the dreams that plague his existence. The dreams where he listens when his mother tells him to say goodbye. The dreams where he doesn't roll his eyes, where he runs to the car when his father yells 'NOW!' The dreams where he gets in the car and his brother punches him in the arm for making them wait. The dreams where they leave the mall and make it home. The dreams where they sit around the table eating dinner and laughing at the silly things they saw during the day. It's those dreams that make Kael wake up and realize it's not real. It's those dreams that make him wretch and heave up nothing for 10 minutes in the morning. It's those dreams that make the flutter in his chest force happiness and silliness into his life where there should be none. Because living in a foster home with a family that hates you is not cause for laughter. Because eating the same peanut butter sandwich for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, are not reasons to smile. Because having the person that is supposed to take care of you come in and beat you with whatever is lying around for waking up and throwing up all over the floor is not a reason to feel happy.

When Kael was 11 when he felt an uncontrollable urge to laugh. The feeling in his chest was stronger than it had been in a while and he clutched at his chest, angry, wanting to tap it out. It was then that he discovered the string. It was invisible but clearly there. He felt it, grabbed it, and attempted to follow it. He walked a quarter of a mile before he realized what it meant. The string was attached to a person. He had heard about soulmates before and knew they manifested in different ways. He remembered how the flutters used intensify when he was happy, how they would console him when he was sad before that day, and how intensely it now tried to change his discontent. The flutters, the feelings, all of it came from a girl.

He wondered if she understood.

Kael understood everything and it pissed him off. His life was a living hell and out there was some girl living out her happiness. He didn't resent her happy life. He didn't care how happy others were. Kael was pissed at fate. How could he make anyone else happy? Any given moment of his life was bleak. How was he supposed to be meant for someone. The string should have been severed the moment that car plowed into his family. If that drunk driver killed his happiness, then he should have finished the job. He couldn't pretend to be happy for anyone. He didn't want to be happy. He deserved this life. If it weren't for him, his family would still be there. It should have been him that got killed. It wasn't fair. And he wasn't going to inflict his cursed life unto anyone else.

He tried ripping the string from his chest, cutting it with scissors, and then a knife, and then an axe, all useless acts.

Kael had long ago decided to live a miserable existence as punishment for causing the deaths of his family. The discovery of having a soulmate would have been a blessing unto anyone else, but to Kael, it felt like cruel joke. This girl out there deserved better than the likes of him. He didn't want anything to do with her. Kael knew he had to send a message, but he also didn't want to hurt an innocent girl. He figured if he rid himself of all emotions, including his anger, his misery, he'd emotionally sever the tie between them.

Kael would become as stone.

Unfeeling.

It took him years. His sadness never truly went away, but he was able to tone it down to just be a constant feeling in the background. Almost like a shadow following him wherever he went but never overtaking him again. Not like it used to.

Annoyance was a hard emotion for him to purge since the girl was insufferable in her happiness. She was constantly punching him in the chest with an ever changing rainbow of emotions.

Though, try as Kael might, he was still human. It was preposterous to think things wouldn't affect him. His body, by nature, would betray him. At the age of 16 Kael spotted the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. He was walking to his foster home from the construction job he had to drop out from school for, when he spotted the ballerina dancing inside a small studio with large windows. She was young, he wasn't sure how much younger, but she was beauty incarnate. Her blonde hair falling from its bun, a light sheen highlighted her features, and her long legs twirled her body accenting every curve.

Kael felt his heart speed and felt himself blush at the sight of her. The ballerina jerked to a stop, effectively snapping Kael out of his trance. He got ahold of his emotions and was about to walk away when he noticed the blush on her cheeks. It was so beautiful Kael forgot how to breathe. He felt his face grow warm again and it was enough to propel him away from the window. The young beauty surely had a nice life with lots of friends, family, and happiness. The last thing she would need in life would be to run into him. He had ruined enough lives.

Kael wasn't a complete loner. He had one friend. Mamoru's childhood rivaled his own in misery. The boy had lost his own parents in a car crash, one in which he was present for in the backseat, consequently leaving him with amnesia. Kael wasn't sure if he pitied Mamoru's amnesia, or if he envied it. Regardless, Kael accepted Mamoru into his life because Mamoru understood his rejection of the world. While Mamoru didn't decide to have the emotional capacity of a rock, he wasn't exactly warm either. The shared severity in which they treated life brought the two young men together, giving them a bridge between their two islands.

But with Mamoru, came the girls. His little possee of fangirls could get annoying. They found his silence mysterious and sexy. While Kael was every bit as mysterious and sexy, Mamoru would not scowl at the girls, and this earned him their devotion. Kael was thankful he only had to suffer the groupies when Mamoru and he met after work and not all day at school like Mamoru did. Thankfully, they mostly stayed away when the two young men got together in avoidance of Kael's glare.

Only two girls dared approach when Kael was around. The first was a freshman by the same of Usagi. She wasn't a groupie, quite the opposite in fact. Her sole mission in life seemed to be to bother Mamoru. Mamoru, in turn, would tease the young girl mercilessly. The two would bicker for at least an hour a day. It would have annoyed Kael if not for two reasons. The first, he was getting better at squashing down his emotions, including annoyance. The second, he could see the change that came over Mamoru the second Usagi was in the vicinity. While he was friends with Mamoru because they shared a similar outlook on life, Kael did not want unhappiness for Mamoru. And through all the arguments and yelling, Kael could tell that this was the highlight of Mamoru's day, everyday. He had a sneaking suspicion that Mamoru would actually think up insults in his spare time.

The second person that did not shy away from the young men was a classmate of Mamoru's named Beatrice. Kael supposed Beatrice belonged with them. She never spoke of her home life and could rival Kael's seriousness. Beatrice had a dark view of the world. She told Kael once that she didn't think they belonged to this generation, said she felt like they were old souls born in the wrong time. Kael reflected on that for a while, the thought resonating in him, but in the end he figured no matter which lifetime he experienced, it would be filled with misery. This era didn't cause his life to be miserable, that was a curse his soul carried.

Beatrice followed Mamoru every day from school to the arcade where Kael would meet them after work. Beatrice, with her flaming red hair, intense eyes, and dark aura that followed her wherever she went, caused Kael to stare on more than one occasion. They would have long conversations about life, fate, and humanity's incessant yet futile search for love, and it would make Kael feel like maybe he didn't have to be alone. Here was a girl who saw life for what it was. Someone he didn't have to pretend to be happy for. The thought was an enticing one. He didn't dream he could be happy, but perhaps he could settle for content. Once that thought entered his mind, it was damn near impossible to think about anything else. Whenever she walked into the room, whenever she sat next to him, whenever her eyes would bore into his, Kael couldn't help think, 'what if.'

It was on a hot summer night, almost a year after he had met Beatrice, that Kael remembered why he chose to rid himself of all emotions.

Beatrice had invited Mamoru to a house party and Mamoru had said he'd only go if Kael went as well. All Beatrice had to do was raise her perfect eyebrow in question at Kael. He shrugged his shoulder in acceptance and the two agreed to meet at her acquainutance's home.

Kael and Mamoru arrived to a house that had music blaring, red plastic cups littering every surface, and where the air was hot and humid from the amount of people packed in each room. They noticed people were passed out in hallways, others were making out in different corners, but most of them were grinding their bodies in beat to the deafening music. All in all, it was your typical rager.

Beatrice spotted the young men almost immediately and brought them each a red plastic cup. Mamoru declined but Kael accepted and emptied both cups, then he went in search of a third.

When he returned it was to see a third person in the group. Usagi was leaning against a wall with a flushed face, while Mamoru had a concerned look on his instead of the usual smirk when she was around. Usagi was clearly intoxicated and Kael knew Mamoru would be seeing her safely home any second. Beatrice stood silently by Kael drinking out of her own red plastic cup. It wasn't long before Kael's prediction came true and Mamoru said he'd walk Usagi home. The pair left with Mamoru's arm supporting Usagi's waist to help her balance, or at least he claimed.

Kael turned to Beatrice to find her face flushed as well. He asked her if she needed a break from her cup and she stated they both needed a refill. Kael, having nothing to wake up for in the morning, accepted her invitation.

Kael lost count of how many times he had visited the keg. The room was starting to spin, his thoughts were becoming slower, but none of it mattered when Beatrice reached up for Kael's neck and brought his lips down to hers. She kissed him aggressively and with her whole body. Kael having spent quite some time imagining this exact situation, this exact position, responded instinctually.

Beatrice pulled him deeper into the house until they found an empty room. She locked the door, shut off the lights, and tossed her shirt to the side. Kael followed her movements with his own and proceeded to bring her body against his as they laid on the bed. She allowed his hands wander her body as she gripped his hair. Beatrice turned her body so her stomach was on the bed and her back was facing him and whispered breathily what she wanted from him. Kael rose himself above her body, one hand supporting himself on the bed above him.

Had Kael not had quite so many drinks he would have been more careful. Usually he was very aware of where the string was. Kael couldn't be sure how the string worked, he had avoided it for years. He was pretty sure the string sent random spurts of emotions through to the unknown girl without his consent. Kael repressed his feelings and purged emotions from his body, yet the string was constantly vibrating in his chest, whether because of her or the string itself, he wasn't sure. He knew the connection was strongest when he held the string, which is why he was always careful to not touch it. But in his intoxicated state, in his fantasy made reality, Kael forgot to be careful.

He didn't realize his hand was pressing the string into the mattress as his body was coming down over Beatrice until he heard, as if it were being screamed directly into his ears, "GET OFF OF HER!"

Kael leaped off of Beatrice, turning the light on, and looked all around the room in alarm. When he realized it was the girl on the other end of the string, realized that all his feelings of lust for someone other than his soulmate had just been forced into said soulmate, Kael felt like a shit.

Beatrice looked at him bewildered and Kael felt anger swell in him. This girl had ruined what he had been dreaming about for months. He tried to apologize but that's when things took an unexpected turn for Kael.

Beatrice started to cry. Kael moved towards her and she leaped off the bed towards her discarded clothing, as if running away from him. Kael tried to apologize again, tried to explain, tried to smooth things even if they didn't go back to where they had been a moment before. That's when Beatrice looked at him with pity in her eyes and said, 'Don't bother, Kael. I don't know what your deal is, but you're not Mamoru. I tried to pretend, but you're just not him. He's off with that brat again and this is just not worth it.'

She left after putting her clothes back on. Kael stood alone in the room sobering up quickly. His mind quickly going through his memories and now seeing every moment they spent together with a new perspective. He slowly sank unto the bed rethink every look, every laugh, every touch. All of it meant for someone else. All of it used to make someone else jealous. All of it a game of pretend where he didn't exist.

It sickened him.

What a fool he had been. As if he could escape his curse. Life wouldn't allow him even a moment of pleasure. He was a fool for thinking there was someone that would accept him as he was. As jaded and as dark as Beatrice was, even she could never be with him.

He tried consoling himself thinking he had been so close, maybe if she had stayed a little longer she could have seen him in a different light. But he knew that wasn't true. She could never see him as anything other than the sorry bastard he was. No woman ever would. Not even his soulmate if she ever met him.

His soulmate...

If it wasn't for her, he wouldnt have to purge every ounce of feeling from his body.

Kael knew that was entirely his choice.

If it weren't for her, Beatrice would have stayed longer.

He knew he was lying to himself.

If it weren't for her, Beatrice would have given him a real chance. She was ruining his life.

Kael knew he was being unfair, but in his anger he couldn't bring himself to care.

Kael grabbed the string in a tight fist, brought it up to his face, concentrated on his chest, feeling the peace that came through-the connection clearer than he had ever felt it- and with all the malice he could muster he breathed, 'I hate you.'

The connection he felt was immediately severed. His chest felt emptier than it probably ever had. He knew the second he couldn't feel her anymore what an ass he'd been. She didn't deserve that. He knew she had saved him. But Kael also knew that she was better off without him. He put on his shirt and made his way home.

Beatrice stopped joining Mamoru and Kael at the arcade. Kael never told Mamoru of what had happened. The string would vibrate occasionally when emotions were high, but never as strongly or frequently as before. With time, it hardly made itself known at all.

Both young men turned 18 and left their foster care homes to move in together in the city.

Mamoru graduated from high school and went on to college, while Kael got his GED and joined to police force.

Kael never thought he'd be grateful for the string, but when the earthquake happened, Kael found himself thanking God for the connection.

AN:

Idk if they do GED's in Japan, but we're gonna pretend. I tried to cover up the thousand plot holes, sorry if you still find some! Also, I can't figure out italics. I will eventually, but I'm exhausted now, so it is what it is. Lol

Reviews are nice. ;)


	3. Chapter 3

Kael was 23 years old when the earthquake hit on a quiet Friday afternoon. The first ten minutes after were pure chaos. No one had control and an entire city was panicking. It didn't help that the police station where Kael worked had crumbled taking half of his coworkers with it. Everyone still standing and able bodied set to evacuating the city before the real danger they were all too aware of took what was left. Living in a city prone to earthquakes they knew that the tsunamis caused by the quakes were where the loss of life truly became catastrophic, and they had never felt an earthquake quite so powerful before.

The work had been rushed and many mistakes had been made. The fear had been evident in not just the citizens' eyes, but Kael was confident that they had done everything they possibly could. They had helped save thousands of lives. He tried not to think about the thousands that were lost.

The sun would set in an hour and most of the city had been evacuated. There were still some emergencies out and that was now the focus. Only the coastal outer edges of the city were completely underwater, but the water was spreading faster than they originally thought.

Kael took a deep breath, allowing the rush of everything to subside. He was going to allow himself one minute of peace, reflecting on the staggering amount of lives his rash actions had saved. It had to count for something, didn't it? He closed his eyes and prayed his family could see he was trying to make amends.

It was 2 hours into the chaos and in this moment of quiet when his breathing slowed enough for him to feel it. The tickling sensation he hadn't felt in years. For a split second he hadn't recognized what it was and he almost felt ashamed to realize it.

How long had it been? Their last interaction was not a moment in his life that he had been proud of. Kael knew he was a cold person, but there were few times in his life that he recognized himself as a true bastard. That night was an undisputed 'I-can-be-such-a-bastard-sometimes' moment.

He had thought about apologizing a dozen times. But to apologize would mean that she'd go back to trying to be in his life. And Kael didn't hate the girl to allow that.

Mamoru had been his only friend through the years, and even he was kept at arms' length most of the time. Through the years the walls around his heart and around his emotions had only strengthened. Kael had tried convincing himself it was for their own safety, but the thought of Beatrice let him know that wasn't the only reason.

So, he swallowed his apologies and let the girl live her life without him to hinder her.

Now, Kael felt the tug and was unsure if he should answer. Did she live nearby? Maybe she lived in the city. She was probably alright and making sure he was too. He remembered her always asking if he was alright, not that he ever answered. The tug was becoming more insistent. Kael began walking towards the city, a bit reluctant to touch the string. She obviously made it out, otherwise he wouldn't feel the tugs. Sure, there were people still trapped in buildings, but there were scattered rescue teams on the inside. Doubt had entered his mind and he hesitantly fingered the string.

Panic flooded every inch of him. He removed his hand as if he had been burned and returned to his quiet moment. He had been completely unprepared. He felt the tugging once again become insistent, the panic starting to leak through into his chest. She was in danger. She had not made it out of the city. The rescue teams had not found her. Kael began to walk towards the city with purpose.

Her calling him continued. He couldn't just ignore her and he needed to touch the string in order to follow it to her. He needed to answer, but he needed to be in complete control of his own body, his own emotions, before touching the string again. He could not allow her to impair his senses.

He took a deep breath and touched the string once again. She was screaming, talking in a rush, feeling too much. He couldn't focus.

"I'm on my way."

She was shocked into silence. It allowed him to regain himself and follow the connection.

They discovered they could actually communicate quiet easily when both were touching the string and focused on it. He wondered if she had figured that out before but didn't ask. She told him she had been knocked unconscious at the beginning of the quake and just recently found herself in the aftermath of the shake.

Then they also soon found that the string would not let them trade specifics. No names or locations. It was frustrating. He would need to carefully follow the string in order to find her.

He trekked towards her at a steady pace, focused on getting to her quickly while also being cautious of falling structures and the incoming sea. He tried to pay attention to what he was seeing. No one was this far into the city anymore, no one alive anyway, and he wanted to commit to memory the destruction to report back. He tried to note everything and remember but failed because she would stop talking.

Had the woman actually taken a breath? For 45 minutes so far she had been chattering nonstop about everything under the sun. Her friends, the last movie she saw, sports, colors, her cat, even her favorite song! She sang it! She had sung to him her favorite song. She had a decent voice, sure, but he hadn't replied in 43 minutes. She just kept talking. He wasn't annoyed, not exactly. He was more confused. _This_ was supposed to be his soulmate? They couldn't be any more different. Around the 10th minute he had decided to time her, wondering how long she'd keep talking without a response. She had yet to disappoint and he told himself to say that he was 'impressed' wasn't exactly right, but he didn't know how else to describe it.

There was no seriousness about her. She had told what she thought were hilarious anecdotes, barely able to get through them without chortling. The stories didn't make much sense since she didn't bother to explain who the people in them were, but she was satisfied to laugh loudly enough for the both of them.

She was a kind person, he could tell. The way she spoke of others exemplified that. She had a nice manner of speaking. She didn't shout but instead talked excitedly about the most mundane of things. Truly, no one should be that excited over the colorful binders they had purchased the day before. But she was. She detailed how she was going to redo her budget for the year using her flower binders and colored pens.

She was getting close to an hour of uninterrupted speech and he wondered how much further until he reached her. She hadn't voiced it but there was something she wasn't telling him. He suspected it was why she kept on talking. He wondered how much of that was her regular personality and how much was the fear she was trying to hide. He walked faster.

Around the 55th minute and in the middle of her describing her favorite day she trailed off into silence. He did not respond immediately, part of him wishing for her to go on. Because she was on an unbelievable roll without any prompting of course, not because he liked her voice. Because he didn't. But she didn't resume her story. She was quiet and he could feel her trepidation growing. He opened his mouth to speak her name, but then he remembered he didn't know it.

"Miss?" he settled for.

"Mm-hm?"

"You've stopped speaking."

"Was it enough?" She asked as if he would know what she meant.

"Was what enough?"

"Do you feel like you know me now?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Do you feel like you know me now? That I'm a nice girl even if I'm a bit of a ditz and talk too much and am annoying but mean well? Do you think you know enough about me to say you know me?"

"You're not annoying."

"Do you?"

Kael thought for a moment before answering. "I'd say so."

"Good." He felt her heart race as if it were his own. "Can you do me a favor? " He began to pick up his pace, almost a jog now. He didn't like where this was headed, he'd seen it enough times in the field, favors were only asked by those who didn't think they'd make it. He said nothing, she continued anyway.

"Can you, like, I know you never really cared for this whole soulmate thing, and that's fine! Really. I got over it a long time ago." Did the string act as a lie detector? Somehow he was sure she was lying. But like most things when it came to her, Kael ignored it. "But, can you just… remember me?"

The words caused him to slow down in shock. He cursed himself and began to run.

"What do you mean? What's happening? What have you been hiding?"

"Listen to me. I need you to remember me. I made a lot of mistakes and I never found what I was looking for. I don't want to be forgotten."

"Don't talk like that."

"I have to. I didn't get a chance to leave a mark on this world, but maybe… maybe I can leave my mark on you."

"Just hold on."

"Officer, please, listen to me."

He tripped in surprise but kept running. "How do you –"

"I followed the string all the way once. After a break up, a bad one." Had they met? "I was feeling pretty low and I remembered that one night. It took me a while to find the string but once I did…I couldn't not follow it. I took me to a police station and right up behind you. Your hair is such an odd color- a lovely color, that is!" She rushed to say. She truly had seen him, then. His hair had always been the first thing that people mentioned when they spoke of his appearance; it was an uncommon trait to have white hair in Japan. Not unheard of, but still rare. "I tried to say something but then my mouth froze and I couldn't. I just chickened out and left."

He stayed quiet. He should have been glad that she hadn't introduced herself that day. He was no good. Sure, he had tried to make up for his sins by being a public servant, but it wasn't enough. It would never be enough.

"Are you mad?"

"No."

"I know you weren't interested in meeting, but now… now I need you to know me. I need for me to not just be some person on the other side." She couldn't be too far, he pushed himself harder, his legs burning but he couldn't slow. "I need to know that you'll think of me even if it's randomly, that you won't forget that I existed."

"Just hold on."

"Tell me something about you." She asked quickly, changing the subject and making his head spin.

He hesitated, unsure what to say needing to run faster but the water was up to his knees now and it was making it harder to run.

"Please."

"I killed my family." What the hell had just come out of his mouth? " I was nine and selfish." What was he doing?! "I made them wait for me and a drunk driver plowed into them." He shouldn't be telling her this.

"That wasn't-"

"Don't! Don't do that. Don't say it wasn't my fault. If I had not been selfish we would have left and they'd still be here." He could have told her anything! He's a dog person, he's allergic to bees, he has one friend, why would he choose to bring this up? He was upset now and the box he kept his emotions safely hidden away in was threatening to burst.

"Stop! Stop running!"

"What? No, I can't. I'm almost there."

"No! Stop! I don't want you to get me. Turn around!"

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm serious, I don't want your help!" She yelled angrily.

He slowed briefly from the shock. He shouldn't have told her. She was scared of him now, he knew it.

"I don't want your help if you're just going to go through life blaming yourself for not getting here in time. So I'm telling you! Don't. Come."

The water was up to his thighs now, he wondered if it'd be faster to swim.

"I'm almost there. Just wait."

"No…no, you're not. Listen to me. You can't keep living this way. I get it now. You've been so wrapped up in your self-hatred you can't feel anything else. But that hate is so misplaced. You're a good person. I can feel it through this connection. Look at you now! You're running into a sinking city for someone you've never met. I know you. I don't know the details of who you are but I know you and I won't forget you. So, please, stop. Stop running. Stop pushing yourself and be with me. If this is it, I don't want it to end in running and rushing. Please, just be with me."

His throat burned. "I'm almost there."

"You could be miles away." She spoke softly.

He stopped running. She was right. He had no way of knowing how far away she was. He could reach her in the next second, she could be just around the corner, but it was a large city and he hadn't even made it half way in.

He stood in the water wanting to ignore her and start running again. But she was right and these could be the last moments she had. She didn't want to be alone. He owed her that much and the realization of it all made him give out an angry yell. It was painful and filled with sorrow.

She stayed quiet.

His chest burned, his throat felt clogged, his body was exhausted, and his mind wanted to escape.

They both stayed silent. Each touching the string trying to ignore their own pain and comfort the other.

"Can I ask you for one last favor?"

He took a shuddering breath. "Anything."

"Don't let go? I don't want to be alone. Just stay with me until it's over?"

It took him 3 tries to get the words out. "Of course."

"Thank you."

"I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault," she said emphatically.

"No, I'm sorry for everything. I thought if I stayed away you'd be safer. Things don't tend to go my way often. But I stayed away and here we still are." He heard her sniffle. "I'm sorry for what I said that night. I was angry and hurt. I should have thanked you. You stopped me from making a horrible mistake. I'm sorry for not turning around when you were there. I didn't know you were, but if I had tended to the string, maybe-"

"I need another favor." She interrupted. His lips twitched almost smiling sadly, he would grant her an infinite amount of favors if he could only find her in time.

"Stop blaming yourself. For your family, for your mistakes, and don't you dare blame yourself for me. Stop ignoring life, and start living it. Live it for me, okay? No more misery. I happen to be a very happy person, and that's because of you." Because of him? "You were so sad all of the time. I felt I had to be twice as happy for the both of us." She laughed. "I guess it stuck." He was in awe. The warmth that she radiated all the time, it was because of him. "So, no more 'I'm sorry's', okay?"

Even in this moment, she only thought of him. Even after everything he had put her through, after the years of silence, she was asking him to live a happy life. She was asking him to let go of the pain he chained himself down with. She was asking him to break down his walls and allow himself to feel again. Was he even capable of emotion anymore? His inability to speak told him he might already be experiencing some of it. How could he deny her anything?

He nodded.

"Officer?"

"Sorry, yes." He cleared his throat and realized he had apologized again. He could've smacked himself. She laughed.

He felt her heart speed up.

"Don't let go, okay?"

No, no! It wasn't time. Why had he stopped running? He began to push through the water again, following the string. He was breathing hard, as if he had not rested at all. It wasn't just his emotions, she was panicking. No. He couldn't keep running. He had to focus on being calm for her, on being there for her. She was right, who knew how far she was and it was clear she didn't have long. Everything hurt. He forced himself to stop running. He gripped the string as tightly as he could.

"I'm here."

She didn't respond. She felt scared. _Reassure her_.

"It's alright. You are the warmest person I ever-" He never met her. How had he wasted his life avoiding her. He wanted to writhe in self-hatred, but he had made her a promise and he wouldn't break it. Not now. Not in this moment. _Do better_. He was forcing the words out, choking on almost every syllable, trying not to sob. "Don't – Don't be afraid to- to let go. If anyone was ever made to be an angel, it was you." He could feel her consciousness starting to slip. "Do _me_ a favor. Watch over me. Make sure I'm making the right decisions. You seem better at that than me." She was almost gone. "Thank you. You've made a change in my soul and I will _always_ remember you. "

And then he couldn't feel her anymore.

He dropped the string trying to get away from the emptiness.

He stood in the murky water, the sun would begin to set soon. He looked towards the city, she was in there somewhere. He looked back, there were people needing help. There was complete silence except for the lapping water. He spotted a truck and climbed into its bed.

He sat and stared as the sun went down, allowing every emotion he ever felt break through the walls he had so painstakingly put up. He sat and let himself feel every emotion he was capable of as silent tears streamed down his face, all the while thanking God for the connection that allowed her to be in his life if only for a moment.

Before you stop reading and completely unfollow me, please note that this story is not yet marked complete. That is all I will say about that.

As for why it took me SO long to post this, there are a plethora of reasons.

First and foremost, I am a Puerto Rican woman that lives in Florida. I began this story in August 2017, right before the hurricanes that destroyed my beautiful island, wreaked havoc in my state, before the hurricane that flooded Louisiana, and also right before the earthquake that devastated central Mexico. I couldn't bring myself to write this while I hadn't heard from my family in PR for days, seeing the destruction that affected so many, I just couldn't.

My family survived all natural disasters, a house was lost and there was a lot of damage, but lives are what matter and everyone is safe.  
I was also living in Okinawa, Japan when the earthquake hit back in 2011. Thankfully, if you don't know, Okinawa is a small island to the south of Japan and we weren't actually affected. Still I remember the panic and the horrors of those days. I won't ever forget my family calling me while it was like 2 or 3 AM for them, or something like that, just absolutely desperate to hear that I was okay.

I've been through countless hurricanes, typhoons, and a couple of earthquakes in my life. Twice I was also faced with the possibility of a tsunami, (small ones, but still, that first time not knowing that tsunamis had different levels and they weren't all giant waves of destruction like in the movies, it's pretty terrifying).

Anyway! I'm giving you my natural disaster resume to say that I don't take these things lightly. I tried to stay away from describing the destruction because honestly, that would make it a little too real for me.

The second reason I hadn't posted this chapter was because I rewrote it about 7 times. I just couldn't get it right. I still don't think I did, but enough stalling, I suppose.

I hope you liked the story. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE let me know what you thought. Reviews are why I keep writing. I hope the next chapter won't take me as long to post.

Stay blessed! Xoxo


	4. Chapter 4

Minako always thought she'd die like the old lady from _Titanic_ , warm in her bed on her own terms after a long life filled with adventures. The possibility of a great love missed was also a factor, not one she liked, but one that made her sure that's how she would go. She never thought she'd go like Jack, a watery death before she could really live. Who would remember her? Sure she had people that would miss her, but would the world?

At the start of the earthquake Minako lost her footing and was knocked out cold when her head struck the floor. She woke up sputtering. The ballet studio she had acquired after finishing business school was flooding and all exits had been blocked. She hadn't become a huge star like she dreamed. The water was up to her ankles when she woke up and was now by her shins. She hadn't traveled outside of Japan. She couldn't fit through the vents, the backdoor was jammed shut. She hadn't even fallen in love. How could she when she hadn't even had the guts to meet her soulmate? The front door was being held firmly shut by a fallen lamppost. He had been right there and -

HER SOULMATE! She could reach out to her _SOULMATE_!

Mina felt all along her chest for the connection as elusive as a piece of hair on your tongue that you can't quite catch. Finally she was able to pinch and grab ahold of it. She began to pull and yank and ask for help. She felt nothing. _What a surprise._ She yelled louder into it, begging for help. Still nothing. And then the thought struck her. _What if he was already dead?_ He was a cop, even if he survived the quake, he could've died trying to help someone. Her breathing began to shorten. The water was up to her knees now but she felt like she was already drowning.

Flashes of white hair and a tall broad back obstructed all thinking. He was gone and soon she would be too. They never even knew each other. She hadn't lived! She was a speck in existence and now it would all be over. She was shaking, banging on the jammed doors, slamming her body against the large front window, all to no avail. She grabbed the string again , crying and begging for help.

"I'm on my way" came his low voice.

Everything stopped for Mina. He was alive. Not only was he alive, but he answered. He didn't say he hated her, he didn't sound rude, he didn't sound mean at all. He sounded like Superman, on his way to save the day. She looked around, trapped in a slowly flooding studio, she could use a Superman right about now.

There was so much floating all around her. She needed to remain calm.

"You answered."

"Where are you? I could get there faster if I didn't have to follow the string."

"I'm in a ballet studio, downtown. It's called Pole Dancing. It's on 52nd street."

"It's called what?"

Mina had gotten a lot of shit for the name, but it made her giggle every time she looked at the small studio so she didn't care.

"Pole Dancing." she repeated.

"What?"

"It's on 52nd street" she said louder. She began to remember what Usa-chan had told her once a long time ago about her soulmate. They were never able to remember each other's faces or even their names. Could the string be blocking her words?

"Hello? You're breaking up" it sounded like he was shaking the string as if it were a malfunctioning piece of technology. She almost laughed.

"I don't think we can share specifics."

"What do you mean?"

"I have a friend, she's got a soulmate somewhere out there. They talk every night. But they can't ever remember their names or where they live. I don't think the string allows us to tell each other where we are. See if you can you hear this, my name is Mina."

"Your name cut off. I'll just follow the string until I reach you. At least I know you're in the city, otherwise you wouldn't be so scared."

"Yes! The city. I heard that. I'm in the city." He was coming. She sighed a little relieved and then she felt the water reach her thighs. Minako tried to think rationally.

This was her chance. They finally discovered how the string worked and he was openly communicating with her. This was her chance to get to know him, the mysterious boy on the end who was always so sad. But he wasn't a boy anymore, he was a man now, and with a shiver she realized that her time was very limited. She wanted to tell him to hurry, but what if he got into danger trying to reach her? Even if he ran, maybe he'd never reach her and then he'd be stuck and tired with water rising and nowhere to go, he could drown. What if a building collapsed on him? There was so much that could happen! _Rationally, Mina. Think rationally._

It was better for him to follow the string at his regular pace and for her not to say a word. If he made it to her on time that would be amazing. But if he didn't…if he didn't then she had to make use of the time she had.

She meant to give him the highlights, family, school, her job, etc., but that quickly turned into talking about everything that popped into her head. She wanted to give him big facts like her beliefs and how she felt about women's rights and what she planned to do with the studio. But she also wanted him to know the little things about her, the little things that only a best friend (…or a lover) would know after years of being together. Things like how the inside of her elbow was ticklish, and how she only likes a little bit of ice in her drinks because the drink should already be chilled, and how she loves skeletons but not skeletons with eyes because those creep her out, and how she felt that if something was color coded it made it instantly better. She told him everything about herself that she could think of.

She was telling him about the time she and Usa skipped school to go to the beach and ended up competing in and winning a swimsuit contest when the water reached past her shoulders. When had it gotten that high? She swam over to the window and tried kicking the glass again. Her movements weren't as hard with the water slowing her speed, but maybe with the added pressure?

It was no use. She was running out of time. Had she already told him about how she felt the last season of the bachelor should have ended?

"Miss?"

His voice was like chocolate mousse. Deliciously soft, claiming her attention and before she knew it she was spilling everything out to him. Begging him not to forget her. She didn't want to be forgotten.

Her voice was too urgent and somehow she could tell that he was running.

She knew Usagi would mourn her and her parents would be devastated, but who else? It's not like the thousand guys she dated would be sad she was gone. She had broken enough hearts to recognize that. And in her desperation for him to consider her important in his life she slipped and told him that she had followed the string once.

Andrew was the only one outside of her soulmate to make Mina cry. She dated him for 2 months and thought that maybe not every relationship had to be a fling. Then she caught him in a passionate embrace with his classmate, a beautiful brunette she had noticed he had been spending an awful lot of time with. She had felt so broken, so insecure. The last time she felt that way had been when… when her soulmate had rejected her.

It had been years since she thought about him, about the string. She bet he was happy with his little crush. They probably had 15 babies by now with a giant house by the lake and a picket fence and 3 dogs and he calls her _honey_ and she calls him _darling_ and they just get along oh so fan-fucking-tastically. Her own soulmate hadn't wanted her, why would Andrew?

A day passed and she couldn't get her soulmate out of her head. Her heartbreak should have been Andrew, but all she could think about was that sad little boy on the other end of a thread that didn't want her to cheer him up. Was he still sad? Maybe he was happy now…

Mina forgot how to grab ahold of the string and spent twenty minutes swiping at the air trying to find it. It was so weird to feel it again, it felt the way it always had. Empty. As if it were a regular string and not a magical bond between souls.

She walked for 3 hours and had almost given up when she saw that it led into a building. A police precinct. _He's a criminal._ It would make sense, he had the attitude for it. Well, good! If he was a criminal then she was going to walk in there, introduce herself and tell him that she hoped he'd rot in jail!

Opening the doors she could see the holding cell on the far wall. She walked towards them but her string curved to the right. 'Maybe he's still handcuffed next to a desk like they do in the movies.' A nice policewoman offered her help but was not bothered nor interested when she said she'd be fine. There was a large room filled with desks, mountains of papers, and hushed chatter as police officers moved about.

Mina carefully followed the string until she came up right behind a tall man dressed in a white collared shirt and khaki pants. He had his gun holstered around his back and under his arm, Mina thought it looked incredibly hot. His hair long and white, which she found so incredibly beautiful, was pulled back in a loose ponytail and he was serving himself coffee.

He wasn't a criminal. He was an officer. Probably a detective since he wasn't wearing blues, at least that's what the movies told you. She had no actual experience with the law to know the difference.

He was a servant of the law. An upright citizen. He wasn't a lowlife that belonged behind bars. He was making the world a safer place. And just like that Mina couldn't speak. "Hi" is all it would take and she couldn't do it. He wasn't a nutjob, he knew what he was doing when he rejected her. He just didn't want a soulmate.

Mina had only wanted a chance to introduce herself but for the life of her she couldn't find her voice. He was finishing putting the sugar in his coffee and she left in a hurry, content to know at least one thing about him. He likes sugar In is coffee. Who didn't, but that wasn't the point.

He was so quiet after she told him. He had made it so clear that he didn't to meet her. She asked if he was mad and he denied it.

She closed her eyes and pictured his tall form, hair so strikingly white. He was imposing. She wondered how scary he must be in real life. Criminals must cower at the sight of him, so tall and big and serious and constantly annoyed if ever felt anything. Mina imagined he frowned most of his life, but then what did she know? He cut her off so long ago. It wasn't enough. It wasn't enough to just tell him about her, she needed to know about him.

She was swimming now, the water was past her head and she was holding on to the chandelier.

She asked to know about him and it all made so much sense. It made so much damn sense. His guilt had weighed him down all his life. This is why he had nightmares. This was why he shut her out, she wouldn't be surprised if he had shut everyone out. This is why he didn't let himself feel anything. He had shut her and the world out and driven out his emotions to cope. Her heart bled for him. He sounded so angry at himself, and then she felt the familiar pulse of rage through the string. He was slowly killing himself with the self-hatred. She wondered if this was why he became a cop. As penance?

Then she realized how horribly selfish she was being by making him come to her. Not only was she putting him in danger, but the chances of him reaching her in time were dwindling. Hearing what she just had, she knew that this would just be another thing for him to torture himself with, and Mina wanted only to be a good memory. She yelled at him to stop running but he didn't want to listen. Not until she made him face the harsh truth. He had no idea where she was. The city was enormous and she could easily be 10 miles away. Looking around she knew he would never make it and she didn't want to spend her last moments trying to avoid the inevitable. She wanted to be at peace, to not have regrets, to make an impact on this world...on him. She didn't want to be another reason for him to be sad.

And then he was apologizing, and while she was extremely satisfied that his little crush hadn't lasted past that night, she could tell she was turning into this horrible moment in his life and she didn't want that. Not when he was the reason she was such a happy person. He had already thrown half his life away suffocating himself under an ocean of guilt. He needed to let go. To forgive himself and she'd be damned if he was going to blame himself for her.

She was running out of space. The water was up to her chin and there was nowhere else to swim.

Jack had known he was saving Rose by letting her sit on the door, maybe this was her destiny. Maybe they were connected so that she could help him move on. She thought about singing My Heart Will Go On but realized that was probably hysteria and she didn't want to go out sounding like a crazy person. With her last breath she ask him not to let go.

She held on tight to the string and swam to the window, throwing her body into it. She could still hear him clearly, he sounded flustered and upset. She punched the glass, but it wasn't breaking. He called her an angel. Her lungs were burning and she couldn't think so straight anymore. She banged on the window with less force, she kicked but her movements weren't coordinated anymore. "…watch over me…" she heard him say. She really tried to hang on but her mouth opened without her say so and she let go.

She was retching. Her chest was burning and she was coughing and her nose stung and there was a sharp pain in her head. Someone was holding on to her while she spit up what felt like gallons of water. She was gasping, giant gulps of air. She felt like screaming but couldn't find the strength to do so.

"Easy, easy. You're okay, you're okay. Just breath. That's it, breathe."

She wasn't dead. She wasn't Jack, she was still Rose. She was alive and on top of a car.

"Almost lost ya there." The voice.

She turned her face to look at her savior. The sun was shining behind him but even with the brightness in her eyes she could make out one distinguishable feature.

White hair.

"It's you."

"Yeah, gorgeous. I got you."

"How..?"

"Spotted you flailing around in there" he pointed behind him at her ballet studio with the shattered window. "Grabbed a crowbar and smashed you out. Just in time it seems like too."

Mina looked at him like she had never seen the sky before. She reached up to his face and caressed his pale cheek. And, while it was probably the whole she-almost-died-and-he-saved-her-thing, she couldn't help herself.

"I love you."

His eyebrows rose and he smirked charmingly. "How about you give us a name, gorgeous."

"Mina. Minako. Aino, Minako."

"Well, Mina, Minako, Aino Minako. Hows about we get out of here?"

"Okay" she said dazedly.

"Can you stand?"

He grabbed her hand and helped her sit up. She felt so woozy and still a little nauseous.

"Give me a sec."

"Sure thing, babe."

She smiled and peered at him. He had the most gorgeous smile. He was capable of smiling, who knew?

"You're smiling."

"I just met you, how could I not be smiling?"

"It's really pretty."

"Nothing compared to yours."

Oh, he was a charmer. Where has this guy been hiding all this time?

"Ready?" he asked her.

She nodded and gave him her hand. He helped her down from the top of the car into the cold ocean water.

"Okay, safety's that way, but thankfully the water seems to have stopped coming in so much. I doubt we'll make it before the sun goes down, but we'll be close."

He held on to her hand and led the way out of the city.

"Wait!"

He stopped and turned to her with a questioning look.

"You never gave me your name." This was it, she was finally going to know who her soulmate was.

He smiled so charmingly, Mina thought she was going to lose all the air in her lungs all over again.

"It's Danburite, but most people call me Ace."

You guys have no idea how I have giggled at your pain knowing this was coming.

Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeease leave me reviews. Leave me flames. Whatever! I just want to hear from you guys.

I love plot twists and this was the biggest one I could think of.

(oh & the 'never seen the sky before' line was from moulin rouge, i just honestly couldn't think of anything else to write there but didn't want to take the credit for it)

Til next time. Stay blessed. Xoxo


	5. Chapter 5

AN: This one clocked in at 9 pages. The format's a little different, we are looking into everyone's POV. I don't think I'll continue the story this way, but it was important to do so for this chapter at least.

 **MINAKO**

A week had passed since the earthquake, since the tsunami, since the total destruction of their beloved city. Three shelters were set up in neighboring cities, each housing a couple thousand people. Many had families and friends outside of the city with which they were able to stay with, but for those that lost everything and had nothing else, the shelters were open to them. The first shelter was actually a Convention Center; it took the most amounts of people. The second was a movie studio; many warehouses were emptied to fit the displaced families. The last was a high school, with the least amount of people at 3,000, and the one where Mina resided. After Ace found her, they waded their way back to civilization just after sunset. They were loaded unto one of the last buses and transported to the school.

Her mother and father were in England and rejoiced to hear that not only had she survived but that her _"damn studio"_ was lost to the ocean. They hadn't loved Pole Dancing much. Mina had made contact with Makoto who was in America for a culinary convention, and she knew that Ami had been out of town with her mother. She had yet to hear news from Rei or Usa. They said the police were in charge of gathering a list of survivors from each shelter, but that the high school would be the last to add their names. Every night Mina prayed for each of her friends to be in a different shelter. She had hope Rei had evaded the tsunami since her temple was on such a high hill, but she feared Usa had been volunteering in the hospital again. There were rumors no one had made it out from the hospital.

She focused on being alive and on the man who saved her. Ace surprised her. She had expected a brooding, ill tempered, silent man, but Ace was just the opposite. He was incredibly supportive, charismatic, funny, affectionate, and most shockingly, open. So open about his feelings and thoughts! At first, Mina felt so hurt by his character, was it just her that he had been so cold to before? She even brought it up to him, asked him what had changed? He was so intent on living miserably and away from her and now it seemed all he needed in life was her. His response had been so heartwarming that she embraced him in a kiss she hoped expressed how much she loved him.

"I almost lost you," he had said, "that's enough to change a man."

 **KAEL**

It had been a week since the city had sunk, taking with it their lives, their friends, families, and loved ones. Not that Kael had lost much, his car maybe, nor had he had any loved ones. Not really. He had one conversation with her, and soulmate or not, that did not equate love. He did, however, let her affect him. No, he didn't think he'd ever stop trying to make up for his family's death, but now he served another purpose: fulfilling the girl's last wishes. She asked him to start living life; it's all she had ever wanted. She had dedicated so much of her life to trying to cheer him up, all the way up to her last moments. So instead of hating himself for not reaching her in time, because he knew that would just make her sad, he set out to bring himself into the world of the living. He didn't know how to begin, normally he would call Mamoru, but, with a regret he let himself feel, he didn't know what Mamoru's fate was after the earthquake. He hoped he was alright.

She also asked him to remember her. Kael had replayed her 45-minute monologue about a thousand times in his head while he sat in the back of that truck. He tried to remember everything she had said and commit it to memory. He would make it a point to remember something specific about her every day.

Today, Kael remembered that she had a nice singing voice.

 **MINAKO**

It turns out Ace wasn't actually a detective. She asked him one night to tell her about his job. He said it was pretty boring, but he was only doing it until his acting career really took off. Mina said she couldn't understand how the life of a detective could be boring.

"I told you I was a cop?"

"Well, no… but like I told you before, I followed the string once. I saw you in the 47th precinct."

His eyes widened with understanding. "Oh, that! No, no. I was researching a role! Yeah, all that was just an act! I'm a server at restaurant downtown. Hey! That precinct is probably destroyed now. Awesome! Haha! I could never be a cop! They're such pigs! Hahaha!" Minako didn't really see the humor in it…

 **KAEL**

Kael was assigned to gathering a list of survivors and compiling a list of those missing. The first name he put on the missing list was Chiba Mamoru. Kael wasn't sure when was the last time he had spoken to his friend, but if he remembered correctly Mamoru's schedule would have had him at the hospital at the time of the earthquake. From what he'd heard, the hospital hadn't fared too well.

With a full flask he began his list in the Convention Center.

She had a million friends, and no matter how hard he tried he couldn't remember all their names. But he could tell her very best friend was a girl named Usa. Her name had come up at least 7 times in her monologue. _"Usa's got the biggest heart on earth." "Then there was the one time I was thinking of dying my hair black, but Usa reminded me I'm so much more of a summer." "And then Usa tripped and her milkshake went all over this redheaded bully's hair! I laughed so hard I pulled a muscle that day!"_

 **ACE**

He had begun to think that staying behind in the tsunami to do a bit of looting had been a bad idea when he saw her flailing through the dance studio's front window. He already had a crowbar in hand and getting her out would've been no big deal. He got to play hero and he was alright with that, maybe the news would run the story. That would give him some much-needed publicity, _hell_ , maybe they'd make a movie out of him. When the chick flew out and she turned out to be ridiculously hot? Man, that was just icing on the cake. Then she woke up and said she loved him. Sure, she was probably out of it but if he could keep this going, it would make one hell of a story.

 **MINAKO**

Boring! Everything was just so _boring_! Like, she understood things were not super awesome. People had lost their entire lives, people they loved, not enough time had passed, and she all got that. But damn, did that mean everyone sat around and did nothing? They all just waited in line all day to fill out insurance claims; there were hardly even any rooms to wait in. The powers that be were focused on feeding, clothing, and generally keeping the population alive. Mina might be eating sandwiches every day, she might not know if her friends were alive, and she might have hated the hideous t-shirt they threw her way, but she also knew how to keep positive.

She began approaching strangers and making them open up their sandwiches. "Trade you that piece of lettuce for this slice of tomato" she whispered like she was making a drug deal. The old woman stared at her before laughing and handing her the lettuce and accepting her tomato. She made 3 new friends that day.

She found scissors in a classroom and used it to cut up her ugly t-shirt. The man in charge of handling the clothing frowned at her. The neck had been stretched to be over the shoulder, the sides had been cut into strips that were then tied back together. Mina smiled, proud of herself. The man, shook his head and asked her to help out some girls that wouldn't stop complaining about how ugly the clothes were. Mina made 10 new friends that day.

Ace moved his cot to be right up next to hers. It's not like they were sleeping in the same bed, and Mina was far from a prude, but soulmate or not she wished he had asked.

 **KAEL**

 _Empathy_ , Kael thought derisively. Taking on other's people's feelings on top of your own, it seemed ludicrous. Faced with thousands of mourning people and he was supposed to take that on? Not only was it impossible, but it was also pointless. Taking on someone else's pain wouldn't get the job done any faster.

 _"Stop ignoring life"_ she had said. With a lot of breaks and an empty flask, Kael practiced empathy. Maybe he should pick up smoking, he thought.

It had taken 5 days to get through everyone in the Convention Center. Since it was the first shelter he went through, everything was complete chaos. The crying mothers, the confused children, the angry spouses, he faced it all even though he wasn't sure he was able to handle it, in all honesty. By the time he got to the movie studio the chaos had settled and there was only sadness left over. He wasn't sure which was worse. It would have been easy for Kael to shut off and keep his walls up, and admittedly he caught himself doing so more than once, but he forced himself to face all of it.

She had trouble with common phrases. " _She's such an exaggerator! You really gotta take the things she says like a grain of rice."_

 **ACE**

Ace didn't have much going for him these days, he was running out of friend's couches to crash on and auditions weren't panning out as well as he originally thought. He didn't get it, his looks could rival Ryan Gosling! But his luck seemed to be turning around. He had a place to crash for the foreseeable future and the hottest girlfriend in probably the city. And the whole 'I love you' thing? Yeah, she was not joking. Turned out, there was a bit of mistaken identity going on. Because of his daring rescue and his white hair she thought he was her soulmate. Ace had caught on when she mentioned him being a cop. It sounded like the guy was an ass and as far as Ace was concerned, she was blessed he found her first. He didn't have a soulmate himself- which he was grateful for, one chick to bang for the rest of his life? No thanks- and didn't see any moral or ethical wrongness to letting her believe he was the love of her life. The way he saw it, he was doing her a favor. That other guy sounded like a major jerk and Ace was the obvious better choice. So, he went along with whatever she had assumed about him and made up whatever he had to in order to have the story make sense.

 **MINAKO**

Once she made friends with the insurance people things go a lot better a lot faster. She got in contact with the school principal who helped her designate rooms for activities. Most importantly came an entire hall for business. A hall where people could be organized about finding a way to live outside of the school. A room dedicated to claims, another to scheduling repairs, another to finding a place to live, another to finding a job. The home ec rooms were redesigned to serve as day cares while parents took care of their business. Many people had signed up to help, so many in fact that they didn't have enough for them to do. That was when Mina realized she wasn't the only bored person in the high school. People were just sitting, waiting to be attended to by a disorganized staff in the face of unprecedented tragedy. Now that there was a little more organization maybe there could be room for a little more fun too. It all kept her busy which meant she didn't have time to think about the fact that she still hadn't found Usagi or Rei, and not to mention that it would give her and Ace a bit of space. Not that she didn't appreciate the attention, but it all felt a bit intense sometimes. She gathered the left over volunteers and began to plan.

 **KAEL**

It only happened once in the first two shelters, but a name matched. He had found a missing person. A little boy was thought orphaned in the first shelter and here was his mother, blaming herself for allowing him to go to the park with his friends an hour before the earthquake hit. When Kael realized the name matched he wasn't sure what to do at first. He had been listening to tragedies, putting himself in others shoes and forcing himself to feel their agony and expressing condolences almost as a reflex for 9 days straight now. He knew that was not what she had meant when she asked him to live his life but he didn't know how else to start. Now, he could hardly remember how to deliver good news. He couldn't do it in front of all the others, this was a special case and he didn't want to give others false hope. He wrote the names down and though it killed him to not tell her right then and there, he let the grieving mother walk away. At the end of the day when most everyone was going back to their cots, he found the mother and asked her to take a walk with him. He still received a few odd looks as most of them knew him as the detective taking names, but he avoided gazes and hoped no one followed.

Once both were in his rental, Kael turned to the mother and tried to tell her gently that her son was alive. He didn't know what to expect, how did a person react to finding out that the person they love most in the world is still alive? She cried but was reluctant to believe him. It took a lot of convincing to have her wait in the car while he retrieved her son from the Convention Center but she finally understood that if it were indeed her son she wouldn't want to rub that in the faces of all the other mothers. It wasn't until the mom had her son in her arms, crying, screaming, laughing, and kissing, that Kael let himself feel their happiness. He let himself drown in it.

She just went for it. _"There was that one time back in middle school that I cut a girls hair. Not to be mean! It was all Usa's idea anyway! She's the one that pointed out that her hair simply did not fit her face. But her mother was one of those people that are just too scared to try different things. So I cut her ponytail off, forcing her mother to give her a pixie cut. Ami was so grateful and still wears her hair that way to this day."_

 **ACE**

Ace overheard the insurance claimers talking about possibly making a small neighborhood up north for people who had lost their houses in the earthquake. Minako had lost her dance studio, if he played his cards right he could have a permanent address in the very near future.

 **MINAKO**

Minako realized that she had said 'I love you' way too soon. No one could really blame her, she thought she had died and here came Ace, her white knight, to the rescue. It almost felt like a fairy tale- minus the near death experience. But here she was almost two weeks later beginning to wonder again why the string would join them. She had understood why he was the way he was when he told her of his past, she even accepted it. But his turnaround seemed a bit drastic to her. She thought he was charming at first, but that charm was coming off a little more annoying lately. The most recent incident was his refusal to help the community.

"It's not a community! It's a shelter!" he had argued.

"What's wrong with turning it into a community? What's wrong with trying to cheer everyone up! We're just trying to help each other."

"Help each other? Gorgeous, if this earthquake has proved anything is that this is survival of the fittest."

All the cute little nicknames were starting to be less cute and more condescending. She used to think that it would all make sense once she met him. Maybe they would just click and poof, like magic they'd just be right. They'd look into each other's eyes and he'd cheer up and she'd feel loved. Then after the night he said he hated her, Mina thought that if they ever an into each other they would feel the connection and maybe they'd ignore it and walk away but they'd know. It wasn't like that. Ace felt like any other guy. She had heard that relationships took work, but she just didn't think it'd need _so much_ work so early. It was naïve to think she'd fall in love right away. These things took time, soulmate bond or not. Still, she spent as much time volunteering as she could.

 **KAEL**

The happy feeling didn't last forever, not that he thought it would, he only kindof wished it. Had he ever wished for happiness? He couldn't remember. He supposed that before his family died he was happy and did not need to wish for it. He wondered if it always felt like that, warm and light. It was a peculiar feeling, he didn't really trust it.

 _"If at first you don't succeed, pigs will fly."_ Remembering her botched up sayings were his favorite memories. She sounded insane and yet she used them so often and with such assuredness. They almost made him laugh now.

 **MINAKO**

Making friends had been pretty easy. She got to know quite a bit of people around the school pretty well and kept getting introduced to more by the ones she previously met. Once she had connections the boredom died all too quickly. She wanted to cheer everyone up. It went against her nature to be around so much sadness. She thought of Ace and his complete turn around and slowed her efforts momentarily before she berated herself for being silly. Ace being happy was a good thing. The sports were easy to organize and she handed the reins off to different coaches once they scheduled times for the fields. Finding teachers for Science, Math and History was a bit of a harder task. Eventually she settled for people teaching themselves after reading a book and discussing it in a group setting before teaching the kids. A lot of people signed on for the reading groups, even Minako wanted to sign up when they talked about reading Pride and Prejudice – she was such a sucker for Mr. Darcy- but had to back out because of all the dance classes she had to give. So many people had signed up that she had to create different types of dance classes to dilute them a bit. There was hip-hop, salsa, waltzing, and her favorite, ballet. It took up her entire days.

She hadn't touched the string since he had breathed life back into her. She felt it would be an invasion of privacy since they knew each other now. Sometimes she was tempted, though. Just a quick touch to see if he was joking or at least get a glimpse as to what he might be feeling when he spoke sometimes. He had pushed her to start charging people for the dance classes. She had looked at him incredulously and walked away telling herself not to touch the string.

 **ACE**

Admittedly, the chick could be annoying. All the volunteer work? Who cared?! But she'd get real testy whenever he expressed his opinions. He needed to be careful, she was his meal ticket and he couldn't blow it. They said the news vans would be coming the following week to update the country on the state of the earthquake victims. That would be his big break. They needed to bang, Ace realized. Sex was one thing he had always been good at. One night with him and she'd relax a bit. It had probably been a while for her anyway and that's why she was all pent up.

 **KAEL**

Only one shelter was left. Kael had prepared himself for another place filled with broken families and lost souls. He did not expect a fully functioning community. It's not that people were happy- he could tell they weren't- everyone these days had a tired look in their eyes and these people were no exception, but they weren't just existing either. The other two shelters were filled with strangers who woke up, ate, and slept, all to be repeated the following day. This place, the people he noticed with some surprise, were speaking to each other. There was a schedule posted on the bulletin board, detailing times for different classes. Art, Science, Dance, Drama, Reading Groups. There was an entire different schedule for sports. As Kael roamed the school he saw that the people had designated the gymnasium and library for sleeping, the cafeteria was still the cafeteria, however all the classrooms had been dedicated to their classes, therapy group rooms, church rooms, and who knew how far it extended. They had formed their own world within the high school. He didn't fully understand why, but Kael felt proud of them.

Birds were her favorite animal. All birds that could fly, she didn't particularly care for chickens or penguins.

 **MINAKO**

There was a new bus of helpers being sent in, she heard. They were bringing in more insurance lawyers, some contractors, a doctor, and some job hunters. All in all, it looked like they might finally be seeing the light at the end of the tunnel soon. She heard rumors about entire communities being built just north of the city for the earthquake and tsunami survivors. Minako thought it was a great idea. These people who had lost everything and everyone would now have each other to lean on. They wouldn't be looked upon with pity or be misunderstood because they all could sympathize. The progress warmed Mina's heart.

At least it did until she realized that Ace assumed they'd be getting one of the houses for themselves…

 **KAEL**

Going through the list had been rather easy compared to the other facilities. Everyone was calmer, dejected he thought at first, after all this time if their loved ones had not popped up, chances were they weren't going to. So they kept themselves busy with work and random classes, dropping by to see the officer with the list only when they had a chance. By 8PM he had seen half the school population and no names had matched. Unfortunately, a grandmother who had lost everyone simply couldn't be strong anymore. She began clutching her chest and Kael immediately sent for the doctor. He sat the woman down and tried to calming her until he heard running outside the hall and saw a familiar face appear in the doorway.

 _Mamoru_.

Both men looked shocked to see each other but quickly collected themselves to attend to the woman still in distress. Kael stepped back and let Mamoru help the grandmother while he caught his breath. Mamoru was alive. His shoulders relaxed and that was when Kael realized he had given up hope. He felt light and instead of holding it back he let his lips stretch. He had read somewhere that it took 43 muscles to smile- he never realized it could be so effortless. He truly did not remember what smiling felt like. It was nice. His natural expression returned shortly, just in time when the woman had calmed and Mamoru had turned around.

"It was a panic attack, she'll be ok. I'll get her to rest and find you after."

Kael could only nod.

He wondered if her name was on his list. Probably.

 **MINAKO**

Minako had spotted Ace on the other side of the gym and was trying to slowly back out when she heard her name shrieked behind her. She jumped and turned around not just alarmed but also annoyed that the loud person had alerted the entire building to her presence. All annoyance was immediately washed away by the overwhelming happiness that encompassed her when the one and only Usagi Tsukino tackled her to the ground in a hug. The girls hugged each other so tightly they began to roll around screaming in happiness. Minako knew they were causing a scene, and really did not want to rub it into everyone else's faces, but she also couldn't think past 'Usa is alive'. Her best friend was alive. She sent her silent prayers of gratitude while tears of joy damped the smaller girl's hair.

"Where have you _been_?!" Mina was finally able to manage.

"It's a long story," Usagi laughed.

"Well, it's a good thing I have plenty of time!" Spotting a head of white hair coming their way out of the corner of her eye, Minako grabbed Usagi's hand, helped her up and ran out of the cafeteria before Ace could reach them.

 **KAEL**

Mamoru found Kael in the cafeteria about an hour later, waiting for him with a cup of coffee. Kael offered it to him and Mamoru took it with a smile. They sat and took sips of their coffee looking at each other appraisingly with a relief neither had felt in weeks. Mamoru tilted his head at him. "Something's different."

"The world went underwater, a lot is different." Kael smirked into his coffee, deflecting the observation. Mamoru nodded, though he didn't look very convinced. "I heard the hospital didn't have many survivors."

"It didn't. We were lucky."

"We?"

Mamoru looked up and smiled. "Yeah, do you remember Usagi Tsukino?" Kael frowned, the name sounded so familiar. "Odango Atama?" Mamoru pushed.

The nickname brought it all screaming back. A pigtailed girl and Mamoru bickering incessantly back in high school. Kael was pretty sure Mamoru had had a crush on her.

Mamoru saw recognition in his eyes and nodded. "Yeah, thought that would ring a bell. She and I got stuck in an elevator in the hospital."

"She worked in the hospital?"

"Started a few months ago" Mamoru nodded. "Boy, did she hate seeing me again." The way Mamoru laughed let Kael know that perhaps that crush hadn't gone away.

"You never mentioned it."

Mamoru shrugged. "Didn't seem important."

Kael stared at him, his eyes clearly calling his bullshit.

Mamoru tried avoiding eye contact but eventually caved. "Fine! I thought I was deluding myself thinking I could have a chance with her after everything and thought talking about it would give me a false sense of hope."

Kael nodded, that sounded much more accurate.

"So you got stuck in an elevator. How did that go?"

A smile slowly spread across Mamoru's face and Kael suspected that his friend's crush had not been one sided.

"She's my soulmate."

There were a few things that Kael could have felt in that moment, but he did not think he was ready to experience multiple emotions at once. He decided to go with happiness for his friend- it seemed the right one to choose.

"I didn't realize you had one. I'm glad for you."

"I didn't think I'd ever meet her. Our situation seemed impossible."

"How so? How were you bonded?"

"Dreams. We've been dreaming of each other since I can remember."

"You've been dreaming about her since you were six?"

Mamoru nodded with a pensive look on his face. "I never thought to ask if she remembers dreaming of me before…" he trailed off and Kael took another sip of his coffee.

"So, how'd you figure it out?"

His friend then laughed and said, "She kept trying to take a nap!"

"In the elevator?"

"In the elevator! It was ridiculous. We were stuck, not knowing if we'd ever get out and she couldn't decide which she wanted to do more, take a nap or insult me!" Mamoru kept laughing and shaking his head. Kael could honestly say he had never seen Mamoru so happy. "She made me so mad- she always had a knack for getting under my skin. It's my fault too, though. I never told you this, but I sort of had a bit of a crush on her."

"You don't say" the sarcasm dripped with each word and Mamoru looked at Kael surprised and then sheepishly.

"That obvious?"

"I could just be observant." Kael thought about it a second more and changed his mind. "No, you were that obvious." Mamoru laughed and the corner of Kael's lip lifted slightly in amusement. Mamoru's eyes zoned in on his mouth.

"You are different." The reminder efficiently squashed the lightheartedness Kael had been feeling. He took another sip of his almost gone coffee. "You don't have to tell me."

"It would feel like I'm hiding her if I didn't tell you, and I did enough of that before." Kael took a deep breath while Mamoru waited patiently. "I had a soulmate too."

"What? You never told- wait, 'had'?"

"I didn't make it to her in time."

Mamoru kept his face neutral, which Kael appreciated. "No offense, Kael, but you don't seem all that beat up about it."

Kael smiled bitterly at that. "I'm not allowed to."

Mamoru frowned.

"She made me promise a few things. More or less told me to get my head out of my ass and join the living."

"And you listened?"

"I'm sure she'd be angry with me for this, but consider it a guilt trip. I couldn't reach her, and she offered me penance. How could I say no?"

"Only you would think living your life is penance."

The two made eye contact and laughed quietly at what had become of their lives.

 **MINAKO**

"Anyway, after they pulled us out we spent some time in the movie studio. But then Mamo-chan got called to the Convention Center when cases of pneumonia caused from the flood started to get worse. I looked for you in both shelters and when I couldn't find you I begged him to let us come to the high school and check it out. I guess there's a cop that's has a complete list of survivors, but we kept missing him."

"I just can't believe it."

"It was crazy. They ended up ripping half the elevator apart to-"

" _Chiba Mamoru_ is your dream prince."

Usagi blinked then remembered to whom she was talking to and giggled.

"No, seriously! You mean to tell me that the guy that terrorized you back in high- "

"I kindof terrorized him too. The terrorizing was pretty mutual."

"The guy that you once described as a 'pompous, pig headed, pain in your ass'-"

"My insults were almost poetic back then, I've really lost it over the years."

"The guy that you had a _massive_ crush-"

"It wasn't MASSIVE! And it's not like I was the only one. Half the town had a crush on him."

"The guy that-"

"Yes, Mina! _That_ guy!"

"I just can't believe it, Usa! Chiba Mamoru is your _soulmate_. After all this time!"

"I know, right under each other's noses." Usagi shook her head with a self-mocking sad look on her face.

"He really shook you awake?" Minako asked, laughing.

Usagi rolled her eyes. "That's when I blew up! Here I was, thinking I was going to die, And all I wanted was to say goodbye to Endymion and this jerk wouldn't let me!"

"But, it was kindof the middle of the day wasn't it? And there had been an earthquake. What made you think he'd be sleeping too?"

Usagi blinked twice and then both girls burst into laughter.

"But what about you? How'd you make it out?"

Mina's laughter died pretty quickly after that. She didn't want to confess about finding her soulmate to Usa yet. She rationalized that if anyone would understand it would be Usa. She and Mamoru had never gotten along. She wasn't sure they got along now that they knew the truth. They should have been an inspiration, really. Not all soulmates got along, but clearly they those two were meant to be! It would just take them time to get used to it, and the same could be said about herself and Ace. It would just take time. Mina needed to be patient and understanding. But still, she didn't want to tell Usagi. She was stressing enough as it was telling herself to give Ace another chance, and while Usa was the kindest soul in the world, she would want Minako's happiness and Mina wasn't sure she could handle the pressure.

"Meh. My story's boring. Studio went under, found a bus, and made it here. See? Boring." She wished she had sounded more convincing, but Usa smiled, seeming to buy it. Maybe everyone was just tired of hearing horror stories and were willing to accept an obvious lie.

"Okay, but you'll have to tell me the truth later." Alright then, so maybe not so much.

"Have you heard from Rei?"

"No, I was hoping you had."

"I'm sure she's fine."

"Of course she is. Knowing Rei, she probably stopped the flooding just by yelling at the ocean."

"Ha, probably."

Minako squashed the worry that burned her heart and turned the conversation to lighter subjects. "So, where's your beau anyway?"

"Curing the world of its diseases!" Usagi exclaimed while waving her hands dramatically. "Saving poor souls, one by one!" She could always make Mina laugh. "Aaaand probably in the nurses office" she ended calmly and abruptly. Mina had missed her so much. She really did need to get her story off her chest and Usa was the perfect person to unload with.

"I'm so happy you found him, Usa. No one deserves happiness like you."

"Oh hush! But I am really happy it's him. He's such a great person, plus ridiculously handsome!"

"So I've heard."

"Wait, you've never met him?"

"Nope, but I heard from pretty much every girl in Juuban what a hunk he was! Ha ha!"

"Well, let's go find him! I can't believe you guys have never met."

"If the stories I heard from you were accurate, I don't think I would have wanted to be in the vicinity when you two got going."

"Yeah, we were pretty bad."

"It was all that sexual tension."

" _Mina!_ "

The girls laughed freely again on their way to the nurse's office. When they arrived the nurse on duty- a medical student that had signed up once Minako began recruiting to help around- informed them that Dr. Chiba had gone down to the cafeteria. If Usagi hadn't been happy before, she certainly was after finding out her Mamo-chan was near food.

"God bless that man for being in the cafeteria."

"I'm surprised you didn't soulbond with a pizza."

"Oh, wow that'd be amazing!"

"Yeah, up until you murder your soulmate cause you got a case of the munchies."

"I would end up killing him."

"Murder at first sight."

The girls were never short on laughter when they were together and after all the trauma they had been surrounded by, it felt good to laugh.

They made their way into the cafeteria and Usagi spotted Mamoru easily.

"There he is!" she pointed. "Oh, wow! He found Kael!"

Minako saw a black haired guy look up and shine the brightest smile towards her best friend. She looked across from him and saw a white haired man. At first she almost ran away thinking it was Ace. How awful that she felt that way about her soulmate. What was wrong with her?

"Come on, Mina." Usagi called a few steps in front of her.

Mianko smiled and they made their way towards the men in the far corner of the room.

AN: Plz don't kill me. I promise they meet next chapter. Once again, I'm sorry for the delay and I will try my hardest to be more prompt. _Pleeeeeeease_ review! I obsess over them. : )

XOXO God Bless


	6. Chapter 6

Mina had known Kael Malcolm for less than 10 minutes when she decided she never wanted to see him again. She wanted to run away from the table, find Ace, and plan out their future together. That's exactly what she needed: a plan. She made a mental note to stop by a supply closet for a binder and some colored pens. But sitting there, avoiding Kael's gaze, Mina realized that she should have left the cafeteria the moment she met him.

"Come on, Mina!" Usagi called out a few steps in front of her.

Mina smiled and made her way towards the men in the far corner of the cafeteria.

"Mamo-chan!" Usagi ran across the cafeteria to jump into her lover's arms. He in turn squeezed her and gave her a kiss on the forehead. The sweetness of it all made Minako's heart ache. She smiled at the couple and snuck another peek at the white haired man sitting at the table. _Now that's what you call a_ man _._ Broad shoulders, straight nose, tan skin, and great posture. She quickly checked his left hand, and was pleased to see no ring. This made number 78 hot available bachelor in the school. Definitely ranked in the top 5.

"Mina! This is Mamo-chan." Usagi called her attention off of number 78.

"Mamoru, actually" he clarified extending a hand.

"Mina." she replied shaking his hand. "It's nice to finally meet the infamous Mamoru."

"Odango talked about me often, huh?"

"More like complained constantly." The two laughed while Usagi gave them each a mock stink eye.

"I'm ignoring the both of you" Usa said before turning towards number 78. "And you! I'm so glad to see you're alright. Mamo-chan has been looking everywhere for you!" she went to the man and gave him a hug. He seemed surprised by the gesture but not unappreciative of it. "You are alright, aren't you? You didn't obtain any injuries in the earthquake? Or the aftermath?" Usagi fussed over him until Mamoru pulled her back.

"He's fine, Usako" he said as he provided his friend space. Number 78 in turn sent an grateful smile to each of them.

"Oh! Mina! I'm sorry, this is Kael Malcolm. Kael, this is Minako Aino."

This was the moment that Mina thought she should leave. The truth was that she had been having problems not checking guys out lately. Mina was a notorious flirt and was finding it hard to kick the habit now that she found Ace. Just the other day she had caught herself openly flirting with the insurance rep. As number 78, she was still ranking guys in her head. Those were not the thoughts or actions of a soulmate in love. She was aware of her failures as a soulmate, but it wasn't until she made eye contact with Kael Malcolm that Mina realized she was in trouble.

She extended her hand with a bright smile. "Pleasure."

Kael directed his gaze at Mina and his almost metallic gray eyes made her want to swoon. Were those contacts? The contrast from his hair, skin, and eyes made him look exotic. She wanted to ask him where he was from. Did he get his looks from his mother or father? She bet he spent half his life at the gym. He doesn't have a ring, but what if he has a girlfriend. Probably.

Mina's bright smile was on its way into turning flirtatious when she realized the direction that her thoughts and actions were turning. She was about to flirt! Again! She truly was a sorry excuse for a soulmate. Maybe it was all those years of dating boy after boy. Maybe she didn't know what it was like to stick to one guy anymore. There was Andrew, but that didn't last very long. Had she ever had a real boyfriend? But it didn't matter. There was no excuse for flirting with other men when she was supposed to be committed to _one_.

He took her hand and gave a nod.

 _Oh._ He was the strong and silent type. _No, Mina! Bad Mina! Avoid eye contact!_

She shook her head and took a seat at the table next to Kael to avoid looking at him and across from Usagi who was almost on top of Mamoru. They were holding hands, but even if they weren't their body language screamed love. She wondered if she and Ace appeared that way to anyone.

"So how'd you end up here, Kael? I thought if we were going to find you it would have been in the first shelter with the other cops." Usa asked him.

He was an officer? Ace might think that all cops are jerks, but there was just something about man upholding the law that Mina found incredibly attractive.

"He's been making his rounds." Mamoru supplied for him. "We just kept missing him. Mina, have you been here the entire time?" The change in subject happened so quickly it left Mina speechless for a moment. She hadn't answered Usagi before and now she was faced with the same question in front of strangers. She should tell them about Ace. What was holding her back? She did want to talk to Usagi about him, but would this really be the right setting? Avoiding the subject did feel like she was hiding him. Thankfully, Usa saw her hesitate and changed the subject for her.

"Yeah, Mina got here right at the beginning. Funny how it's the last place we both looked, huh?" Usagi giggled a little too forcefully. There was an awkward silence where Usa and Mamoru had their own silent conversation with intense stares, pinched noses, and eyebrow wiggles. Mina chanced a glance to Kael and found him studying his coffee. He didn't seem uncomfortable in the awkward setting. She couldn't really picture him uncomfortable in any setting. He was so large he probably commanded any room he was ever in. Ace commanded the room too, though. He was slimmer in frame, but his confidence was through the roof. Some would probably call it cocky, but she knew that he meant well. Finally, Mina couldn't take the silence anymore.

"So, Usa tells me you two an interesting encounter in an elevator" she addressed to Mamoru, wriggling her eyebrows. She noticed a quick movement from the corner of her eye and found Kael staring at her. His eyes were so intense Mina turned back to the couple who were both blushing and smiling at each other to avoid asking him why Kael was looking at her like that. Best to not to talk to him.

"Actually, I was just talking to Kael about that. You've got a weird friend here, Mina" he said to tease Usagi.

" _I'm_ weird?! Kael, did you know that your friend is rude? Not letting a girl rest her eyes for a minute!" Usagi addressed to Kael but was poking the man next to her. Was this the arguing that went on when they were younger? The two kept going back and forth and Mina had to laugh. They must have been so obvious. How they never saw it before is beyond her. She wanted that. That familiarity. That look in her eyes that screamed warmth. He kept doing little touches on her, poking her nose, tugging a ponytail, or grabbing her hand. This was love. And she wanted it.

That was such an odd thought. She had it. She had love. She found Ace hadn't she? Her soulmate?

But if that were true, she wouldn't be hiding him from her best friend. She should have told her by now. It was practically the first thing Usagi told her when they sat down to talk. A soulmate is not a secret or something to be afraid of.

She looked to her side and found Kael still looking at her, less intensely but more contemplative. He was so handsome. Maybe top 3 in the school, he had some competition with Mamoru now that he was here. And she couldn't knock Ace from the top spot, out of principle. Their eyes met again and Mina wanted to run. She wanted to stand up, run out of the cafeteria and find Ace. Because these were not the feelings of a woman in love. And she was in love. She had to be. She needed to prove it, not just to herself, but to the world.

"Usa!" The girl stopped her bickering and turned towards her along with the other two heads at the table. Mina noticed Kael lean closer and blurted out what she had been hiding. "I found my soulmate!"

No one spoke, no one moved. Usa stared at Mina with wide eyes and a slightly open mouth.

"Wha- you did? When? How?" Usagi leaned in half way across the table. She saw Mamoru sit back with a lazy smile on his face and saw Kael go back to his coffee from her peripheral vision.

"He found me. After the earthquake. Kindof saved my life. His name is Ace."

"Wow, Meens. I thought you had given up on him after… after everything."

Mina shrugged. "We found each other and everything's perfect." She smiled a little too brightly and fought to make it natural. "I love him" she added. She didn't mean to say it so loud, but she wanted Usagi to believe her. What was that saying? Shout it to the buildings? Shouting it in a cafeteria worked too, right?

Usagi reached for her hand and squeezed it. "Minako, I am so happy for you." The sincerity in her voice made Mina's eyes well up. She wasn't sure why she thought announcing it to her best friend would make it feel more real, but it didn't. She used to think that the moment she made eye contact with her soulmate, it would be like lightning. They'd just know. It didn't feel like that. Then later she thought, maybe after they have their first kiss, maybe then she'll know it deep in her gut, this was her soulmate. And while that kiss had been hot, it wasn't like that either. In fact, the more she got to know Ace the more she felt that the universe got it wrong.

Her thoughts made the tears in her eyes spill but she kept her smile. Let Usagi think they were happy tears.

"Congratulations" she heard from her left. His voice had been deep and quiet. It was incredibly sexy. What a voice! What would it sound like if he read a scary book? No! A romantic novel. She could just hear him speaking Heathcliff's passionate words to- _STOP IT, MINA!_

She let go of Usagi's hands and stood up abruptly. "Thank you!" she almost shouted, startled by her own thoughts. "Al's voice is super sexy too and I like it just fine!" Usagi frowned and cocked her head before Mina caught her blunder. " _ACE!_ ACE'S VOICE IS SEXY." The entire table, and most of the cafeteria looked at her like she'd grown another foot. Or was it arm? Whatever, they looked at her like she was crazy and she was starting to think she was.

"I'm gonna go. It was nice meeting you, Mamoru" she said while slowly backing away. "…you too, Kael" she added, almost afraid to make eye contact with him. "Bye Usa!" Had she not been in such a rush to get out she could have caught the alarmed look on Kael's face.

* * *

Mina set out to find Ace and was surprised when she couldn't find him. He normally hung out either in the gym or library if he wasn't eating. She asked around a bit and while a few had spotted him earlier, he was still nowhere to be found. It was half an hour later that she found him coming down the hallway stairs. What had he been doing all the way up there?

"Ace!" She called.

"Gorgeous! Just the person I was hoping to see." He reached her, wrapped an arm around her and dipped her back in a deep kiss.

Say what you would about Ace, but the man could plant one. "What a welcome!" She laughed when he swung her back up.

"What can I say? I missed you." He could be so sweet sometimes. She grabbed his hand and the two began to take a walk. Ace quickly switched her hand for putting his arm around her. It was a bit uncomfortable walking that way, but if it made him feel nice she wasn't going to deny him that.

"Hey, I saw you earlier with some girl. Old friend?" he said.

She remembered finding Usa in the gym and the ruckus they caused. She also remembered running away from him. If he noticed he didn't show it.

"I found Usagi" she said happily. He looked at her expecting an explanation.

"…one of the girls I kept asking everyone about? My best friend."

"Right! Yeah, right. So I guess you found her."

"More like she found me" Mina laughed.

"You guys spent some time together then?"

"A little. I'm planning on finding her later and giving her the full tour of our little school." She almost said community but he always got a sardonic looking smile when she called it that and she didn't feel like getting back into that argument.

"That's nice. I saw you later in the cafeteria." He had? Had she been so wrapped up in checking Kael out that she missed him? She prayed he didn't catch her ogling the other man. "Who were the other two guys?"

Mina smiled nonchalantly. _Play it cool, Mina. Play it cool_. "Well, Mamoru is Usa's soulmate. Turns out they've known each other for years and never realized. How funny is that?"

"Heh, that _is_ funny. And the other guy?"

Damn, she was hoping he'd let it drop. "Oh, that's Kael. Mamoru's best friend. They just found him here too."

"He's new."

"Yeah. I guess all three of them got here last night."

"You guys close?"

"Me and Usagi? Of course, silly! We're best friends" she said smacking his chest lightly. He caught her hand and kissed it.

"You and Kael" he said against her hand. "And Mamoru" he added.

"We just met. Usagi introduced me to them."

"You think they're worthy additions to our community?" Mina's head snapped up to his. He just called it their community. Not only that but he said "our" community. Maybe he was coming around.

"I think they'll be great additions" she said as she moved her arm around his waist to show that she was liking this change of attitude.

"Yeah?"

"Sure! I mean, Mamoru's a doctor and that's really needed around here."

"That is helpful. And Kael?"

"Kael? Uh, well, he's a cop. So I'm sure I can convince him to ref a game or two. There's a little bit of a rivalry forming between the gym sleepers and the library sleepers and while I think it's adorable and all in fun, we don't want anyone to take things too far. If we were to have someone there to remind everyone to not get too crazy it could-"

"He's a cop?" She had tried to make him see the bright side, but his tense tone let her know it had not worked.

"Mm-hmm." Mina already knew how he felt about cops and she didn't want to set him off, best to change the subject. "Hey! How about we go catch the second half of the soccer game going on right now?"

It didn't seem like he heard her. "Ace?"

"Hm?"

"You okay?"

"Is he from the city?"

"Who?"

"Your cop friend" he said a little stronger than she think he meant to. This is why she didn't want to bring it up. Ace had a real problem with the police.

"Uh, yeah. I think that he survived the earthquake too."

"What do you think about him?"

Mina stayed quiet for a moment. She wasn't sure what the right thing to do was here. She couldn't tell him about her finding Kael attractive- that could open a can of worms and if Ace found out about her ranking system she didn't think he'd care that she had placed him at number one. She didn't want to say that she supported having an officer on campus because that could still set off another argument. In the end she went with the truth.

"I don't really know him."

He nodded, seeming to accept the answer.

Ace slowed his walking and his arm slipped down until his hand was rubbing the back of her neck.

"Mm. That feels nice" she said closing her eyes.

Ace stopped walking and turned her towards him, his hand stopping his gyrations and holding her in place.

"You ran away from me." Mina's heart dropped to her stomach. He _had_ noticed. "Why?" His tone had been so incredibly sad, she felt like the worst human being. All he wanted was to spend time with her. She had been cruel.

"I'm sorry. I just wanted to spend time with Usagi alone. I didn't mean to hurt you." She really hadn't.

"You're the most precious thing in my life, gorgeous" he stroked her cheek while he spoke. "I know I don't talk about it much, but I lost everything in the earthquake. I'm blessed that this bond brought me to you." It was official, she was a piece of shit.

"I'm lucky too, Ace."

"You still love me?" His hand around the back of her neck impeded her from turning away.

"Of course, Ace." Was she making him insecure?

His eyes focused on her lips and his own began to stretch in what seemed almost predatory to Mina, but it must've been all in her head because he began to kiss her softly, lovingly. These kisses were rather nice, she thought.

When he broke off he spoke quietly in her ear. "You know, there's an empty room on the third floor."

Mina looked at him not comprehending.

His arm lowered around her waist and he began to lead her towards the stairs.

Why would he want to go to the third floor, to an empty room, unless… Her hand reached towards the string. She needed to know his intentions. Just as she was about to touch it, she stopped. That wasn't fair. She needed to give him the benefit of the doubt, not go intruding into his emotions.

"Wait." She stopped walking.

"What's wrong, baby?" He kept his arms around her.

"What do you want to do up there?" she asked softly.

His hands roamed up her arms and neck again where he held her as he leaned in for another kiss. She wanted to enjoy the kiss, but the apprehension of the situation had her too tense.

"That answer your question?" he said lowly into her ear. It was meant to be sexy. It _should_ have been sexy, but alarms were going off in her head.

"There's nothing but desks up there, it'll be too uncomfortable." She tried to think of excuses.

"I was able to sneak a gym mat. They're surprisingly soft, you know." He tried reassuring her.

She narrowed her eyes. "Did you plan this?"

"You make it sound like a bad thing. Shouldn't I want to be with my soulmate?"

Guilt wracked Mina again. She should want to be with him. But shouldn't it at least be more romantic than this?

"I'm sorry. You're right. I just want it to be more special, you know?" She looked at him pleadingly. "Maybe after we leave the school."

"That could be weeks, Mina." He sounded irritated.

His tone shocked her. She was starting to feel pressured and that seemed a bit much to add to the guilty feelings.

"Am I not worth the wait?" Mina considered herself a master of winning arguments. The question, which she spoke softly and sadly, could only result in one response: him backing down. If he didn't he'd be insulting her and she had noticed a while ago that he went out of his way to accommodate her. Yes, that realization made her feel like scum, but she'd rather feel like a jerk than be pressured into a situation she did not want to be in.

"Of course you are" he answered in defeat. Mina mentally high fived herself. She gave him a soft peck on the cheek and turned to walk away but he grabbed her elbow and pulled her back into him an aggressive kiss. Aggressive seems a harsh word. It was probably just passion, she thought.

"I'll find us somewhere more romantic" he said after breaking apart. Mina could only smile back.

* * *

The soccer game had been a real heated match. Mina was glad she caught the second half of it, even if Ace didn't tag along with her. A lot of the players were very excited to see her and the refs shooed her off when the coaches starting complaining about distractions. It didn't bother her, if anything it lifted her mood laughing at the teams' antics. Once the game was over she set off to find Usagi. Not because she wanted to avoid going to sleep next to Ace, but because she missed her friend. Or so she told herself.

She found her, along with Mamoru coming out of a hallway into the main courtyard. If the soccer game hadn't completely lifted her spirits, seeing her friends certainly finished the job. She noticed Kael walking in the opposite direction from them and was grateful she wouldn't be distracted by his biceps again.

Mina's happy mood was stopped short however when she noticed the embrace between the couple was not so much a romantic one. Usagi was crying. Why was she crying? Minako walked faster to get to them.

Had Kael gotten in an argument with them and that's why he was going the other way? Had he insulted Usagi? She'd kick his ass!

Mamoru spotted her first, his pained expression turning sorrowful and Mina's worry tripled.

They couldn't be breaking up, not the way they were holding on to each other. When she finally reached them Usagi's pained sobs cut off Mina's inquiries. She just wanted to comfort her friend.

"Hey, hey. Usa, it's okay." Was it okay? Would anything that would make someone cry this hard be okay?

Mamoru let one arm leave Usagi to put on his hand on Mina's shoulder. She looked at him confused, silently asking 'what happened?' He only looked at her, his sorrowful expression not changing. When Usagi noticed MIna presence her crying got louder and she released Mamoru to latch on to the other girl. Mina immediately wrapped her arms tightly around her. She was gonna kick somebody's ass, that was for sure.

"Shh, Usa. It's okay. It's okay, honey. What happened?"

Mamoru put a hand on the back of Usagi's head, trying to add comfort in any way that he could. It was obvious that Mina was not going to get answers out of the sobbing girl on her shoulder so she turned to Mamoru with a determined attitude.

"What happened?" _And watch what you say because I_ will _knock you out._

Before he could answer Usagi pushed off Mina shaking her head.

"No. No, don't, Mamo-chan" she sniffled loudly. "I-I have to be th-the one."

She needed to be told something? Was the school kicking them out? It would be alright, they would find someplace to stay. Sure, she loved the community, but they could do this anywhere they went. There was no need for hysterics.

In the back of her mind Mina knew that it wouldn't be that simple, but she didn't want to deal with more sad things. Life had been hard enough the last few weeks.

"Mamo-chan," she said, her voice shaking. "Can you give us a minute?"

"I'll be right over there" he told her. After kissing her forehead and giving Mina a compassionate look she did not understand, he stood and left the women to themselves.

"Usa, you're scaring me."

"I'm sorry." Even as she said this she was trying to choke back sobs. Mina put her arm around her, trying to calm her down. "What happened?"

Usagi took 3 deep breaths, the anticipation of which almost had Mina shaking her, and began to explain.

"You know how Mamoru said that Kael's a cop?"

So it did have to do with that guy. She nodded and began planning where she would hide to surprise attack him.

"Well, he was sent to all the shelters by the commissioner."

"Okay…" Mina didn't understand but she was good and angry already. It was a shame her brass knuckles were at the bottom of the ocean now.

"We didn't know it, but he was the police officer me and Mamoru were looking for. They sent him around to speak to every person to compile a list." Mina nodded, urging her to continue. "One list was of all the survivors. Another list was of those missing. And the third list was of those confirmed dead."

It took Mina another two seconds before realization hit her like a bulldozer. " _Rei_ " she said.

Usagi's teary eyes began to spill in earnest again while Minako felt the blood drain from her face.

"No. No, he's wrong." Mina shook her head and backed away from Usagi.

Rei couldn't be gone. Cherry Hill was so high, the water couldn't have made it up there. All this time she had been worried and asking around for her, but no part of her truly believed that Rei could actually be…dead.

"He's not wrong, Mina." Usagi said through sniffles, trying to give Mina another hug.

She really hadn't made it off the temple? Minako felt sick. She remembered how it felt to think you were drowning and her breath became short again. To think that Rei had gone through that, only she didn't make it. The next thing she knew there was pressure being applied to her back, making her bend over. She distantly heard someone telling her to breathe. _Mamoru_. He had seen her begin to panic and forced her head between her knees to breathe. Did this actually help? It seemed so silly. It seemed like the kind of prank that she would pull on her friends. Only now she had one less friend to prank. Rei was gone. She couldn't even remember what the last thing that she said to her was. She prayed to God it wasn't something petty. She prayed that she had told her she loved her. Had Rei known how important she was to all their lives?

Mina realized that she was clinging tightly to Usagi as the two of them sat on the ground crying.

A while passed and the two managed to catch their breath. They sat there not saying anything. The courtyard lights turned on and Mamoru asked them quietly to head inside. The girls took an extra minute before standing.

"I can't believe she's gone." Usagi whispered. Somehow it seemed disrespectful to talk louder than a whisper. "I didn't think anything on earth could actually get the best of Rei."

"She was almost superhuman, wasn't she?" Mina replied.

Usagi nodded.

"Who confirmed the death? Did his list say?"

"Oh, Mina. That's the worst part" Usagi said clutching her heart with one hand and grabbing unto Mamoru with the other. "Kael," she had to pause to catch her breath again. "Kael said he connected the dots when you were with us in the cafeteria."

"What dots? What do you mean?" Mina asked.

Usagi sniffled loudly. "Kael said he was talking to her when she died."

"What?"

"Rei was Kael's soulmate."

AN:

Looks like Kael is a bit confused as to who his soulmate really is. We'll see how he got to this conclusion next time.

Also, please don't hate me. I said they'd meet, but not that they'd get a decent interaction Lolol I promise we will get to see them have an actual conversation in the next chapter.

I want to send a HUGE thank you to Adrianna Sharp who beta'd this chapter. Without her you guys would've been getting something about half the size of this and it would have been TERRIBLE. haha! She was a giant help and I'll be forever grateful.

As always, your reviews have pushed me to keep writing. As long as people are interested I will continue to try and not make this story suck. We have a few more chapters to go, but we're just getting to the good stuff. Please stick around and leave me a quick note!

God bless xoxo


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